United States

The Dow Jones Industrial Average carved out a fresh record, adding 1.1% to close at 52,900.07, powered almost single-handedly by Apple. The iPhone maker jumped 4.8% to lift its market value to US$4.53 trillion after a five-session run of more than 12%, putting it within striking distance of reclaiming the crown from Nvidia, which slipped 1.4% to US$4.71 trillion. The broader S&P 500 finished virtually flat as strength in health care and financials was offset by a rout in chipmakers, while the Nasdaq shed 0.8%.

That rout is becoming the story of the quarter. The key Philadelphia semiconductor gauge fell 5.4% on the session, with the dedicated AFR coverage pointing to a two-day slide of close to 12%, its sharpest since early June. Equipment names bore the brunt, as Teradyne, Entegris and KLA each dropped more than 13%. It is a jarring turn for an index still up 78% this year and coming off its best-ever quarter. Strategists framed the move as a rotation rather than a wholesale retreat, with money leaving the AI, memory and semiconductor winners and finding its way into financials, consumer discretionary and earlier laggards.

The catalyst was June payrolls, which rose just 57,000 against forecasts nearer 110,000, with the prior two months revised down by a combined 74,000. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.2%, though that reflected 720,000 people leaving the workforce, dragging participation to its lowest in more than five years. Swap markets promptly dialled back the odds of a near-term Fed hike, sending short-dated Treasury yields lower and the greenback softer across the board. UBS and Annex Wealth read the print as room for the Warsh Fed to sit patiently through the second half. The next policy meetings land on 28-29 July and 15-16 September.

Elsewhere, Tesla tumbled 7.5% despite record quarterly deliveries of 480,126 vehicles, a 25% lift that comfortably cleared expectations, as traders took profits on a stock that had rallied hard into the number. In deal news, Anthropic is reportedly in talks with Samsung over a custom AI chip, OpenAI is said to be weighing a 5% US government stake, and Rivian lifted its full-year sales outlook.

Europe

European equities pushed to session highs on the same jobs-fuelled rate relief, with health care the standout. The sector climbed 3.3%, led by Bayer’s 8.9% surge after an upgrade and a move to hive off its US glyphosate business, alongside gains of 4.9% for AstraZeneca and 3.9% for Roche on encouraging late-stage lung cancer data. Defence and industrials also ran hot, with Rheinmetall up 6.1% and Saab adding 8.6% on order expectations. German real estate rallied on a government plan, lifting Vonovia 6%. Technology was the lone sector in the red, down 2.1%, as the chip malaise crossed the Atlantic and dragged Aixtron down almost 10%.

*Note: These prices are based on futures and/or CFD pricing and may therefore differ slightly from spot pricing.

Commodities and Currencies

The weaker US dollar lit a fire under gold, which climbed 2.2% to US$4119.99 an ounce. Iron ore added 0.9% to US$98.45 a tonne, helped by reports that China’s CMRG may block some Fortescue cargoes. Oil was steady, with Brent barely moved at US$71.59 a barrel and WTI easing to US$68.48, as Saudi crude exports returned to roughly 90% of their pre-war pace following the US-Iran truce. The Australian dollar firmed 0.4% to US69.22¢, the euro and pound each rose 0.5%, and the yen strengthened 0.9%. Bitcoin added 1.7% to US$61,461.

Economic Calendar

No Major Economic Announcements